NDP calling for Sylvie Therrien’s Reinstatement

The NDP is calling for better protection for whistleblowers in public office and for the immediate reinstatement of Sylvie Therrien, following her dismissal for having revealed the quotas that were being used to process employment insurance benefits.

“Sylvie Therrien had the courage to reveal that quotas were being imposed on federal investigators by the Conservative government. Their response was to blame her, rather than attack the real flaws that she had brought before the public’s attention. Thousands of Canadians have signed a petition in support of Therrien and have asked the government to give her back her job. The Conservative government treats their civil servants with contempt,” said Employment Insurance critic Robert Aubin (Trois-Rivières).

“Like the Liberals before them, the Conservatives are acting as if the money in employment insurance coffers belongs to them. They unilaterally adopted measures forcing Canadians to work for lower wages while restricting accessibility to the program,” added NDP Treasury Board critic Mathieu Ravignat (Pontiac).

The NDP supports all individuals who have the courage to call out the government on its wrongdoings.

Ravignat has also tabled a bill to help protect civil servants who raise the alarm about misdeeds in the public service. The bill aims to push the prescriptive period from 60 days to 18 months for those who claim to have been victims of retaliation, and would give further powers to the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner.